The Surgical Management of NCAA Division 1 College Football Injuries Post COVID-19: A Single Institution Retrospective Review

• Published in: Journal of strength and conditioning research Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 906 - 911
• Main Authors: Cohen, Jacob L, Cade, William H, Harrah, Tanner C, Costello, 2nd, Joseph P, Kaplan, Lee D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies 01-05-2024
• Subjects: Anterior cruciate ligament; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - epidemiology; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - surgery; Athletic Injuries - epidemiology; Athletic Injuries - surgery; College football; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Football - injuries; Humans; Incidence; Injuries; Knee Injuries - epidemiology; Knee Injuries - surgery; Male; Pandemics; Physical training; Retrospective Studies; Reviews; SARS-CoV-2; Shoulder Injuries - epidemiology; Sports injuries; Universities; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1064-8011; 1533-4287
• DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004720

Cohen, JL, Cade, WH, Harrah, TC, Costello II, JP, and Kaplan, LD. The surgical management of NCAA Division 1 college football injuries post COVID-19: A single institution retrospective review. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): 906-911, 2024-The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on college football operations, including athletes' training regimens. As a result of these changes, concern for increased injury susceptibility post COVID-19 regulations has become a point of discussion. The current study sought to evaluate the incidence of surgical injury among NCAA Division 1 college football players at the authors' institution during the first full season after start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years. Retrospective chart review was performed for all players who sustained injuries requiring surgery while a member of the NCAA Division 1 football program during the 2009-2021 seasons. A p -value of ≤0.05 was used to determine significance. A total of 23 surgical injuries occurred in 22 players during the 2021 season compared with 121 in 118 players in the 12 previous seasons combined ( p = 0.0178; RR = 1.47). There was a significant increase in shoulder injuries ( n = 13 vs. n = 31; p = <0.0001; RR = 3.05) and specifically a significant increase in labral tears ( n = 10 vs. n = 30; p = 0.0003; RR = 2.74). No difference was seen in knee injuries ( n = 10 vs. n = 77; p = 0.27; RR = 1.35) and specifically no difference in anterior cruciate ligament injuries ( n = 3 vs. n = 31; p = 0.77; RR = 1.17). This phenomenon is multifactorial in nature, but alterations to players' training and preparations because of the COVID-19 pandemic likely resulted in suboptimal conditioning, leading to the increased incidence of surgical injuries emphasizing the importance of adequate strength training and conditioning.